Scientific Name:
Achillea millefolium
Pronunciation:
ak-ih-LEE-a mill-ee-FOH-lee-um
Common Name:
common yarrow
Family Name:
Asteraceae
Plant Type:
Herbaceous perennial, Weed (horticultural)
Key ID Features:
Leaves fern-like, oblong-lanceolate, most 4-20cm long x 5–12cm wide, appearing 2-3 pinnate with all segments deeply dissected; corymbs of 10-100 heads < 1cm wide most with 5-8 greyish-white, petal-like ray florets and 10-20 cream coloured disk florets 2-4mm long; achenes 1-2mm long, flattened, without hairs.
Habit:
Stiffly upright
Form:
Mounded
Texture:
Medium - fine
Mature Height:
0.7 - 1.3m
Mature Spread:
0.6 - 1.0m
Growth Rate:
Moderate
Origin:
Central / west Asia, Europe, North America
Hardiness Rating:
Zone 2: (-46 to -40 °C)
Exposure:
Full sun
Soil/Growing Medium:
Rocky or gravelly or dry
Water Use:
Low
Landscape Uses:
Medicinal plant, Perennial border
Additional Info:
Google. Note: see separate entry for the cultivars found on campus.
Leaf Morphology:
Form:
Simple, Dissected
Arrangement:
Alternate, Basal
Texture/Venation:
Soft flexible, Pinnate venation
Surfaces:
Pubescent, Distinctive smell
Colour in Fall:
Yellow
Shapes:
Lanceolate, Linear
Apices:
Acuminate
Bases:
Attenuate
Margins:
Lacerate, Pinnately lobed, Pectinate
Additional Info:
2-3 times pinnatsect
Inflorescence Type:
Head (capitulum), Corymb-like
Flower Morphology:
Flowers perfect
Number Of Petals:
5
Corolla Shape:
Rotate/stellate
Ovary Position:
Inferior
Colour (petals):
Showy, White (Yellow, orange, red, and pink cultivars exist - see separate entry)
Flower Time at Peak:
Jul, Aug
Additional Info:
Ray florets pistillate
Fruit Type:
Cypsela (achene + calyx)
Fruit Colour:
Brown
Fruiting Time:
Jun, Aug
Additional Info:
Not showy,
Bark or Stem Colour:
Organ Modifications:
Rhizomes
Propagation:
Seed, Division - below ground parts
Pest Susceptibility:
Mildew, Rust (Pest resistant, Deer resistant, Rabbit resistant, Drought tolerant)
Course(s):
- HORT 1155
- Level 1 Apprenticeship
- CLT Training
Location(s):
- (WDY) WeeDY location